A sudden rise in temperature in conjunction with a dry spell has kick-started the critter breeding season this year. The annual household invasion of stick insects, jumping spiders and wetas is off to a good start.

There was a time when our houses were havens of peace where we could retire from a day’s slog in the salt mines or recover from our latest whipping in the slave pit, grab a bit of kai, watch a bit of telly and snatch forty winks.

Selected members of the Galactic Senate meet at frequent, but irregular, intervals to discuss matters of glactic import.

At the latest meeting, the emperor Derolan Calna Voroseii Anacreon III met with his senior administrators to consider the threat presented by the Pengoon invasion, a new but secretly-named race of galactic invaders, the Matata earthquake swarm, Sir Patrick Moore’s latest television programme, Seifried’s newest offering, and other weighty matters.

The venue was the Thai Country Cafe on the corner of Main Road and Oxford Street in Tawa.

With guests in town for the New Year holiday, plans to ride the harbour ferry, lurk about on Somes Island and tootle about the harbour parks had to be shelved when a cold southerly arrived in Wellington on the afternoon of the 30th.

Being sensitive to low frequencies can be a mixed blessing, so I have a lot of sympathy for those residents of Auckland’s North Shore who have been reporting humming or buzzing sensations in recent times.

October’s equinoxial gales have transported me back about 10 years to the mid 90s when I could sit at the back door and watch the newly planted vege garden heading north under the tender ministrations of a southerly gale. If I had been more quick-witted, I could’ve grabbed some of the plants back a couple of days later as they hurtled by on their way to the South Pole in a northerly gale.

Yesterday’s twin dramas, a massive power failure in Auckland and a solid dump of snow in the South Island, highlight the great divide between town and country.

There are some excellent lessons to be learnt by every New Zealander from both incidents, but it seems likely that they’ll be lost in the acrimonious debate that is already evident as business, politicians and the usual anti-Auckland lobby fire up.

Another new menu at The Roundabout pub in Tawa sees the return of the noble burger. There’s chicken and a beef/cheese ensemble with the option of an egg, and the kiwi requirement of a slab of beetroot is catered for.